Today's Newsletter: In-Person vs. Online Teaching

Here’s an opinion piece that almost slipped by while I was on vacation last week but will surely ruffle a few feathers. Yale computer science professor David Gelernter extolled the benefits of new school models in the Wall Street Journal—local Internet schools he calls them—that use technology to usher in the long awaited education reinvention. While doing so, he also pokes at another long standing hive: “Of course in-person education will always be better than online teaching—if the teacher is any good.” This piece contributes to the subtle referendum on the future of teachers going on in this summer’s Kahn Academy debate. Seems to me like the issue will continue to get more volatile as time goes on. We’ll be following it closely here. —Kevin Hogan, Editorial Director